Immortal is an anthology of seven stories all revolving around vampires. Overall, it was entertaining, but there were some I enjoyed more than others. I liked how P.C. Cast provided a prologue that dived into the whole vampire phenomenon and explored the allure people have with vampires. She talks about how vampires represent immortality, youth and the possibility of forever, which is what most people find attractive because when it comes right down to it biting and blood is just gross, so thereImmortal is an anthology of seven stories all revolving around vampires. Overall, it was entertaining, but there were some I enjoyed more than others. I liked how P.C. Cast provided a prologue that dived into the whole vampire phenomenon and explored the allure people have with vampires. She talks about how vampires represent immortality, youth and the possibility of forever, which is what most people find attractive because when it comes right down to it biting and blood is just gross, so there has to be more to it.

Here’s a brief overview of each story:

Haunted Love by Cynthia Leitich Smith – 4 StarsThis story was creepy, fast paced and full of suspense. The main character is a vampire who owns a haunted theatre. In the end the main character, Cody Stryker, finds himself intrigued by the ghost that inhabits his theatre and solves a mystery that’s haunted the town for decades. It was a good story that required a bit of suspended reality.

Amber Smoke by Kristen Cast – 3 StarsThis story involves some creative creatures. There are Furies, Daughters of the Night, that give birth to a son names Alekos who was born eons ago from the womb of vengeance, conceived by jealousy and grown in constant anger. Wow! So dark, yet poetic! Despite Alekos’ beginning, he was bred to defend mortals. One fateful day, he comes to Jenna’s rescue a little too late after a deadly accident. He becomes her protector as she begins her new life as a vampire. The story was a bit choppy, but it was still entertaining and creative.

Dead Man Stalking by Rachel Caine – 1 StarThis was my least favorite of the bunch. I didn’t care for this story maybe because the whole zombie concept doesn’t capture my attention, plus I didn’t really care to read about a parent/child abusive relationship. The story was all over the place and a bit confusing.

Table Manners by Tanith Lee – 4 StarsI really enjoyed reading this story as it gives a creative spin on vampire lore. In this story, vampirism is genetic and called Being of the Blood. The vampires in this story can shape shift and are looked at as a variety of an evolving super race. In addition, they don’t require blood for sustenance. Lelystra Draculian (love the name btw) is a vampire and her father is a doctor that helps their kind. Lel goes on a hunt for a new born and ultimately helps him in his transition. The story was easy to follow, and l liked the characters and the lore.

Changed by Nancy Holder – 3 StarsJilly Stepanek lives in NY and on her 16th birthday, the city is invaded by vampires of the worst kind. There are vampire birds and regular vampires that go on a killing rampage. Jilly goes on a hunt with Eli, her ex-boyfriend turned best friend, who’s now gay (followed that?) to find his boyfriend. The story was face paced and a little too gory and freaky, but it still held my interest.

Blue Moon by Richelle Mead – 5 StarsI might be biased because she‘s one of my favorite authors, but I liked this story the best. It was enjoyable to read and the prophecy was clever and tied the story together nicely. I liked the two main characters, Lucy Wade and Nathan and the ending was perfect. Lucy is a vampire whose birth is tied to a prophecy stating there would be a vampire born during the blue moon, which is when the moon is long and has an extra full moon. This vampire would have the power to make it so humans can kill vampires. Her birth and her 18th birthday would fall on a blue moon. She is being hunted by her kind as well as a group of mortals that want to use her for her ability. Nathan comes to her aid and together, they fight the forces against them.

Free by Claudia Gray – 4 StarsGray is another of my favorite authors, so needless to say I liked this story too. Patrice longs to escape the fate of her culture which is tied to slavery and service. She is not exactly a slave, but also not free to live her life as she chooses. One day, she makes plans with Amos, the man she loves to escape and try to make a life for themselves, but a stranger named Julien Larroux changes her plans forever and makes her into a vampire and kills the man she loves. Becoming a vampire is not quite the plan she had for herself, but it gives her the strength to find the freedom she’s longed for....more

The book is a bunch of short stories. Some were really good but all were decent. P.C. Cast did a good job getting a variety of different stories. My only complaint is the title. Many of the stories had little romance (just some attraction) or love. But just a small detail. Below are my thoughts on each story individually.

1) Haunted Love by Cynthia L Smith. This was a story about a newly turned vampire who kills his uncle and starts to run a small theater. The theater is haunted by a ghost namedThe book is a bunch of short stories. Some were really good but all were decent. P.C. Cast did a good job getting a variety of different stories. My only complaint is the title. Many of the stories had little romance (just some attraction) or love. But just a small detail. Below are my thoughts on each story individually.

1) Haunted Love by Cynthia L Smith. This was a story about a newly turned vampire who kills his uncle and starts to run a small theater. The theater is haunted by a ghost named Sonya. Cody (the young vampire) also hires a girl named Ginny. He is drawn to both. This story has interesting connections between the 3 of them but I would have liked a bit more detail and emotion in the story. Overall-3.5 star rating.

2)Amber Smoke by Kristin Cast. An odd vampire twist wit a touch of very off beat Greek mythology. A young girl dies by falling and hitting her head, is turned into a vampire upon getting kissed while dying. Each vampire has unique powers. They don't feed off blood and when they bleed their blood is amber. Very odd story.Not exactly my cup of tea but I am sure others would like it. 2.5-3 star rating

3) Dead Man Stalking by Rachel Caine. This story takes place in the Morganville series. It focuses on a young man named Shane. He is kidnapped by a zombie-type guy named Jerome and brought to face his father who is trying to kill all the vampires. Although I have yet to read this series this story stood well as a stand-alone and actually left me even more interested in reading Rachel Caine's other books. 4 stars

4)Table Manners by Tanith Lee. A good story about a girl at a party. She comes across a vampire and starts question him on his habits, weaknesses as a vampire (sunlight, blood, mirrors, etc). In Lee's story here vampires are not obligated to any of the lore that is made about them. That its psychological. Very nonstandard vampire traits but is slowly becoming a more common theme in newer books. I like the first person perspective this story was written in. 3.5- 4 stars.

5)Blue Moon by Richelle Mead. A good, likely futuristic story. Here, vampires are the upper class and run things. Humans are servants and lower working glass. The story focuses on a young girl trying to escape the city. She uses a human to do this. AN interesting story about the relationships between humans and vampires. 4.5 stars!

6)Changed by Nancy Holder. Great short story. Well-written and captivating! This story takes place in the city when one night vampires attack and over then next several days the city is in chaos. Survival is hard death is everywhere. A teen girl looking for her best friend amidst the fires, surrounded by those who would drain her blood. 5 stars!

7)Binged by Rachel Vincent. Not Really sure this is a vampire story. Its about 2 girls, one being a siren and feeds off others (energy?) while singing. The other seems to give and take opposite energies of music. Very strange and hard to follow what and how their abilities work. Especially the second girl who goes after a guy she feels drawn to. However the story was well written otherwise. 3 stars.

8) Free by Claudia Gray. Set in the 1800's in New Orleans. Focus's on Patrice's struggle as she learns what it really means to be free in those days. Well written for the most part but was a bit tricky to believe the time period based on writing style and description at times. However the story was very good. 3.5-4 stars....more

As Richelle Mead's big fan, I read this anthology in hope of finding another good story from her.

And well, I find more.

Only God knows that I will fall in a story about Siren. Oh, and a Muse girl. The ending is, wow. Find it yourself on Rachel Vincent's story: Binge.

Blue Moon from Richelle Mead amazes me like I have thought. Famed by her Vampire Academy series, Richelle Mead makes another vampire story in this anthology. It's a good story, even without strigoi stalking.

As P.CUnexpectedly amazing.

As Richelle Mead's big fan, I read this anthology in hope of finding another good story from her.

And well, I find more.

Only God knows that I will fall in a story about Siren. Oh, and a Muse girl. The ending is, wow. Find it yourself on Rachel Vincent's story: Binge.

Blue Moon from Richelle Mead amazes me like I have thought. Famed by her Vampire Academy series, Richelle Mead makes another vampire story in this anthology. It's a good story, even without strigoi stalking.

As P.C. Cast says in introduction page:

Come with me, will you? Let's pass through the realm of immortals again. I was dazzled by the variety and richness of the stories the wonderful authors in this anthology created. It is always a pleasure to visit Rachel Caine's Morganville, and a familiar joy to be seduced by the magic of Tanith Lee's unique voice and vision. I was a proud mom, smiling at Kristin Cast's world in which vampires were created by the ancient Furies, as well as a satisfied reader. The conclusion of Claudia Gray's pre-Civil War story had me cheering. In "Haunted Love" I was pleasantly surprised by Cynthia Leitich Smith's plot twists and turns. Richelle Mead's "Blue Moon" made me breathless. Nancy Holder's post-apocalyptic vision took me on a wild, scary ride, and Rachel Vincent's vampiric siren was a cool addition to our mythos.

I invite you to join me in reading the magic within these pages. We'll e mesmerized by the allure of the vampire together, and by doing so ven if just emporarily—we'll all attain a measure of immortality. ...more

From Amazon: "In Immortal: Love Stories With Bite, edited by New York Times bestselling author of the House of Night series P.C. Cast, eight of today's most popular YA vampire and contemporary fantasy authors offer new short stories that prove that when you're immortal, true love really is forever."

I have found that I am not a fan of short stories. First, I get frustrated that when the story is just getting good, it ends. I don't get enough detail, enough character development, enough plot. SecoFrom Amazon: "In Immortal: Love Stories With Bite, edited by New York Times bestselling author of the House of Night series P.C. Cast, eight of today's most popular YA vampire and contemporary fantasy authors offer new short stories that prove that when you're immortal, true love really is forever."

I have found that I am not a fan of short stories. First, I get frustrated that when the story is just getting good, it ends. I don't get enough detail, enough character development, enough plot. Second, I just can't get motivated to read this way. I know I only have 30 or so pages to read a whole story, so I read it, then quit. My reading habits were severely diminished by this. Now, if you are someone who doesn't have a lot of time to read and don't finish stories quickly, then this is a good book for you! I'll break down each of the 8 stories with a quick opinion.

Introduction by PC Cast: I love her analysis of why we are so fascinated with vampire stories.

Haunted Love: "Cynthia Leitich Smith (Tantalize) gives us a love triangle between a vampire, a ghost and a human girl, in which none of them are who or what they seem" This was an interesting story - definitely would have liked more detail and to have been made into a long story.

Amber Smoke: "Kristin Cast (the House of Night series) introduces us to a new kind of vampire: one with roots in Greek mythology, and the power to alter space and time" This was best as a short story. Not much more could have developed from it. It was okay.

Dead Man Stalking: "Rachel Caine (the Morganville Vampires series) revisits the setting of her popular series, where the vampires are in charge and love is risk." This short story made me want to pick up the Morganville Vamp series ASAP!

Table Manners: "Tanith Lee (Black Unicorn) shows us what happens when a bright young woman with some supernatural savvy encounters a misguided (but gorgeous) young vampire." This story was utterly stupid - a waste of reading time.

Blue Moon: "Richelle Mead (the Vampire Academy series) brings us the tale of a young vampire on the run from the rest of her kind, and the human boy who provides the getaway car." Um, yes please! I want more! So, I guess I'll be reading the Vampire Academy series very soon as well.

Changed: "Nancy Holder (the Wicked series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) immerses us in a post-apocalyptic New York where two best friends are forced to make a choice that may kill them both." Holder is definitely not shy of killing innocent humans off! I'm not crazy on her writing style, but the story was okay.

Binge: Rachel Vincent (Shifters series) tells the story of a siren and a muse, both best friends, who struggle with self-control and lust within that self control. This was my first exposure to sirens since The Odyssey. I found it quite interesting.

Free (A story of Evernight): "Claudia Gray (Evernight) takes us into the world of her Evernight series, in which a pre-Civil War courtesan-to-be is courted by a pale, fair-haired man whose attentions are too dangerous to spurn." This was my favorite story of them all, probably because I really like the Evernight series. It tells the story of Patrice and how she became a vampire. If you have read Evernight, you will definitely like this one.

Overall - I give the anthology 3 stars. Some stories deserve 4, while others deserve 1 or 2. Take your pick: read them all or just a few....more

Dreck! Sheer and utter dreck. And proof positive that just because you're an NYT bestselling author does not mean you should be let within spitting distance of an editor's pen or (this being the 21st century) keyboard. I am sorry to P.C. Cast fans, but a 10 year old could have done a better job of editing this book than she did. Half of the stories never should have made it into this book. They either weren't romance at all, or had almost no romance in them whatsoever. In one, the guy dies at thDreck! Sheer and utter dreck. And proof positive that just because you're an NYT bestselling author does not mean you should be let within spitting distance of an editor's pen or (this being the 21st century) keyboard. I am sorry to P.C. Cast fans, but a 10 year old could have done a better job of editing this book than she did. Half of the stories never should have made it into this book. They either weren't romance at all, or had almost no romance in them whatsoever. In one, the guy dies at the end, I would hardly call that romantic. Now mind you they aren't bad stories per say, but they ought to have been part of an urban fantasy anthology or this anthology should not have been called Love Stories With Bite. Either way though, they really should not have been included in this anthology. As for the ones that were romance, they where too short and rushed to really be believable. Out of this entire collection, there was only one story that I wouldn't have minded seeing as a full length novel and that's the one by Richelle Mead called Blue Moon, it was good and I wouldn't have minded reading more. And the story by Claudia Gray is also pretty interesting. But those two don't make it worth buying, if you want to read this. Check it out of the library, and skip all but the Mead and Gray stories. Bottom line: there are some really good paranormal/vampire romance anthologies out, and this is not one of them. If you don't read this you're not missing out on anything great or even semi-decent with the exception of the Mead and Gray stories. I know from reading other reviews that some of these stories are prequels or back-stories to a series that that person writes, it would have been helpful if that was stated beforehand, and I was not particularly interested in reading those series, although I have read the Gray and Mead series. Regardless the title of this anthology is Love Stories With Bite, not back stories or prequels to something I write, nor is it crummy urban fantasy short stories. A lot of these would have been better served being released either as a free read on the author's website or released as e-novellas....more

I wasn’t sure about this story at first it was slow but I loved Cody. I was shocked by the end of the story and it was nice to be surprised by who the bad guy or rather girl was. I was happy that Sonia was the one that got to stay with Cody. He deserved to be happiness after what his life had dealt him. I’d rate it 5/5 stars.

Amber Smoke ~ ~ Kristin Cast

Jenna was thrown into a new world one night when she was going to a party. She was late and saw a guy at aHaunted Love ~ ~ Cynthia Leitich Smith

I wasn’t sure about this story at first it was slow but I loved Cody. I was shocked by the end of the story and it was nice to be surprised by who the bad guy or rather girl was. I was happy that Sonia was the one that got to stay with Cody. He deserved to be happiness after what his life had dealt him. I’d rate it 5/5 stars.

Amber Smoke ~ ~ Kristin Cast

Jenna was thrown into a new world one night when she was going to a party. She was late and saw a guy at a bus stop and then she woke up reliving the exact same scene, but instead found the same guy outside her house.

Alek was made by furies that are his mothers and he was given a gift. That gift was actually being Jenna who’s life he saved. Alek said he’d be her teacher after he saved her making him like he is.

Jenna isn’t sure at first, but after he takes her to the house of the guy dating her mom she learns more than she ever thought existed. I loved the references to Angel and Justin Hartley. I give it 5/5 stars. I also think this should be expanded on because it could be an entire book.

Dead Man Stalking ~ ~ Rachel Caine ~ ~ A Morganville Vampire Story

I thought this story was good. I haven't read any of the Morganville Vampire books yet, but if they are as good as this short story I will. Shane Collins is kidnapped by a guy he knows to have been dead for a year and taken to a house just outside of Morganville.

He's surprised to find his dad, who was an awful person to him growing up. Frank Collins wanted to take out vampires, but his son fought back for the first time and he left taking his best friend with him. Rachel Caine is an excellent author from what I have read. 5/5 stars.

Table Manners ~ ~ Tanith Lee

I wasn't crazy about this story until the very end. Lelystra Draculian is the man character along with a sixteen month freshly turned vampire named Anghel. I liked that he could turn into a wolf, but this story didn't grab me. Lel's dad sent her to an October ball, but she knew by the end that it was to help Anghel. Her dad and her have the vampire gene, but they don't see it like the book and movie vampires. That part might have been the biggest part besides his hair that made me not like Table Manners. To them you can eat and drink not needing blood to survive. I'm being gentle and gave it one more star than I thought it deserved because of the ending. 3/5 stars.

Blue Moon ~ ~ Richelle Mead

Lucy Wade is on the run from her own kind. They want to kill her because she is the key to their death. Her blood has the power to make a hunter(s) out of humans that can kill her own kind.

Nathan, a human is her first chosen one and he tells her about his self while they are going to what is thought to be a safe place. He hates vampires for what they did to his family, but he doesn't hate her.

I loved how they worked together and by the end they were running even farther after he stopped the ones that were after her. He made his choice and it was to stay with her forever.

I loved this story so much and I love Richelle's works. Richelle did a great job with this story and the way it ended could be expanded on into a full book if she wanted. I give it 5/5 stars.

Changed ~ ~ Nancy Holder

This story started off okay, but I wasn't sure at first, but it was bittersweet. I loved it by the end though which is why it got a higher rated star.

Jilly is the main character and she is searching for her best friend Eli. Eli and her dated once before for two years before he realized he was gay. I felt bad for Jilly and Eli both because the guy he loved Sean didn't survive the vampire apocalypse that broke out I felt bad for Jilly because she can't have the guy she really wants, Eli.

The thing is Jilly thought Sean was always bad. I was so happy that Eli and Jilly survived even if they could only be best friends. I didn't like Eli's parents at all. I give it 5/5 stars because they lived.

Binge ~ ~ Rachel Vincent

This story was so sand and I'm heart broken for Mallory right now. Andi is a siren, but she doesn't take lives like most do she refuses to kill her victims. Mallory is a Leanan Sidhe which means a muse in English language I guess. Mallory keeps Andi from going to far if she gets to a point she can't control what she's doing.

At one party that they go to only to find a genius, which is an artist that she can inspire. Things seem to be going perfect until Andi shows up after Mallory was with Evan all day the following day. It is heartbreaking after that and I wish that Mallory could have gotten what she really wanted, Evan. I give it 3/5 stars because of how it ended.

Free ~ ~ A Story of Evernight ~ ~ Claudia Gray

I think that this story was okay. I wasn't a fan of the back drop setting though. I think that time was barbaric. I was not happy that the guy Patrice loved, Amos was taken from her. They said it was a dog, but I know the truth.

Patrice is being shown off so she can be with some guy. (So utterly stupid) It is a custom she is being forced into a year early and she hates it all she wants is Amos. She never gets that chance though.

She takes full advantage of Julien Larroux before the end of the story. I was so happy about that too he deserved what he got. Julien doesn't get what he thought he would. Patrice makes sure he is punished for taking her Amos away from her. This gets a 3/5 stars because of Amos and the barbaric customs. The author did a good job otherwise.

Haunted Love by Cynthia Leitich Smith - 3 starsDidn't see that coming, but I knew there was something off about the new girl. The main character was a bit cheesy what with the I-can-catch-the-girl-before-she-falls-even-though-she's-so-far-away super speed thingy, plus the fact there were moments he was like "OMG flesh, blood yummm OMG I can be so dangerous near her". Definitely, Cody looThis review also appears on my blog, The Bookworm Experiment

Rating: 3 stars

List of short stories featured:

Haunted Love by Cynthia Leitich Smith - 3 starsDidn't see that coming, but I knew there was something off about the new girl. The main character was a bit cheesy what with the I-can-catch-the-girl-before-she-falls-even-though-she's-so-far-away super speed thingy, plus the fact there were moments he was like "OMG flesh, blood yummm OMG I can be so dangerous near her". Definitely, Cody looked like Edward Cullen. I didn't understand very well how Cody was turned -- I mean, it's not thoroughly explained. Looks like just drank the "power elixir" he ordered from someone who was selling it in the internet and... bam! he's a vampire. So, not the best of explanations. But the story was entertaining, nevertheless, just as the ending was sort of cute, sort of creepy.

Amber Smoke by Kristin Cast - 2 starsFor those who didn't know who threw that sticky, thick veneer of teenage drama all over the young characters in the House of Night series, after this short story you won't have a doubt. (view spoiler)[(Yeah, I know, it was already said in the Casts' blog or whatever it was Kristin, but anyway...) (hide spoiler)]. The main character, Jenna, is just as annoying as Zoey and her gang can be, perhaps even worse. All those "suuuper cute" comments and "OMG he's so hot I can't even form a coherent thought" thoughts just serve to show how immature the supposedly "powerful" and "goddess-chosen" characters can be after she goes through their personalities to make them look like 'real' teenagers. Please, don't insult us. Not all teens are these brain-dead, walking stereotypes you see in movies like Mean Girls. The concept for vampirism here is different, but very, I don't know, incomplete? It just didn't make sense. Seriously, more explaining, people! This is not a teaser for a new series, so please elaborate and tie the knots in the right place when you write a short story, so it's more reasonable, ok?

Dead Man Stalking by Rachel Caine - 2.5 starsI'm not sure what to say about this one, and I can't compare it against the full series, since I never got to read it. And I keep postponing reading the series because when I started paying attention to this author, the series had already 7 books out, and it kept getting sequels... and now it's so damned long. I guess it stopped at book #15, now. Hopefully I'll read it soon and see for myself if so many books were necessary to tell a story. So, about the short story: basically, there's this guy Shane and he's kidnapped by a zombie. But he lives in a world (or maybe it's just a city?) where the bloodsucking kind of undead is normal, but the walking rotting corpse kind is not. Then he discovers his father is behind it all and that he's sort of a vampire-hunter wannabe daddy. A bit of a feeble story: there's not much of a plot, action or a climax (it's a very fast one at that anyway). I liked the short story "Automatic" better than this (even though it didn't have much of a plot either). I like the author's writing style though: it's easy to read, but I wish it had more substance.

Table Manners by Tanith Lee - 2.5 starsThe writing was so choppy in the beginning, it was almost painful to read. I was expecting this to be another rip-off of Twilight mixed with some elements from Dracula. Instead, we find that vampires aren't the monsters or the lascivious creatures everyone believes -- beautiful, angsty, lustful, arrogant and with just a few weaknesses to keep them from taking over the world -- NO! They're some sort of, er... superhumans? Explained by the MC as beings who evolved whereas the poor humans didn't. Damn, this almost sounds like Darwin's theory about humans and apes. lol But seriously, the concept was very different, indeed. In this story, vampires are vampires just because they have a special gene they inherit. And the cherry on the cake is: none of those weaknesses and myths are true! It's all in the vampire's head: the need for blood, not being able to stand sunlight, blah blah blah. They're not immortal either. They just don't age after some time (something around their twenties, it seems), plus no need to eat food, and no reproducing by the biting-and-giving-blood method, just the... you know... the traditional way. The story is a lot more about explaining vampires than having an actual plot, and even though there's no instalove here, the romance still came off as too forced or rushed.

Blue Moon by Richelle Mead - 5 starsThis has got to be the best story in this train wreck of an anthology. That's why I love so much Richelle Mead's works -- no matter how different from what you'd expect from a story, her books are written in such a way you can actually believe and connect with the characters, like it's all possible and real. Although this one is not such an original idea (as far as I know, there's some books out there that are similar), Blue Moon, still has what I want from a story: an actual plot, action (preferably some ass-kicking), relatable characters and a little bit of romance. The world is the dystopian kind, but ruled by vampires, and Lucy Wade, "daughter of one of the most powerful vamps in town", finds herself in the middle of a prophecy, meaning she now has to choose between killing or being killed. I wish this was turned into a full book -- it's certainly interesting enough to have its plot extended -- although I don't believe that's going to happen since the author already has a bestselling series about vampires.

Changed by Nancy Holder - 1 starThis is probably one of the most bizarre short stories in this book. Jilly and Eli are best friends, and she loves him, even though, after their being girlfriend and boyfriend for some time (eighth grade?), a new boy, Sean, starts going to their school, and Eli finds out he's gay and starts dating Sean. Anyway, that's not the point -- or at least shouldn't be, because it seems it's all the MC can talk about, all the time. SO, about the vampires: this doesn't even resemble a vampire story, sorry. It's all about a dramatic invasion, end-of-the-world style, in NY. Yeah, how fun. Problem is, the vampires act like zombies. They're thought of as smart and fast, and are dominating the city, burning down or exploding houses, killing people for fun and turning the chosen humans into one of them. There's no comunication, cell phones, internet, nothing works anymore. But what's the vamps' purpose? Why don't they subjugate humans and create an empire or something? Nope, all they can seem to do is go on on a killing spree, and miraculously leave Jilly alone, while other people are cowering and hiding and killing each other over food. There's simply no meaning in this, and it just looked like all that stuff was written simply to show how Sean was evil, Eli was blind and Jilly was a twit. *eyeroll*

Binge by Rachel Vincent - 4 stars"It's not even about vampires, so what is this doing here?" This was one of the thoughts that popped in my mind when I was halfway through the story. The main characters here are a siren, Andi, and a leanan sidhe, Mallory, and are best friends. In a way, I understand the similarities between what a vamp's feeding and what they need to do to survive. Still, I can't help thinking this belong in some other anthology, not one that features vamps. Yet, apart from this detail, I quite enjoyed the story, in fact. In order to Andi not to die from "hunger", she has to choose between either feeding from a human's energy all at once (consequently killing him or her) ever few years, or taking a bit from large crowds and feeding on a regular basis. Mallory, on the other side, is a "muse" who can give "genius" to someone and live from this mutual exchange of energy gifts or something. Both Andi and Mallory help the other not to step out of line and end up killing someone. The ending was very heart-wrenching, and I kept wishing some sort of miracle would happen and things would change.

Free by Claudia Gray - 4 starsThis story is set in the world of the Evernight series, but far back in the time when Patrice Deveraux was still a teenage and human, and her mother was looking for a white man to marry Patrice to, even though she loved the blacksmith, Amos. She was one of the characters I actually liked (differently from the MC of the actual series and Patrice's roommate, the too-stupid-to-live Bianca). It's nice to read the story of a strong character for a change. Patrice's got a backbone, and is one of the most fierce heroines in this anthology. The ending was bittersweet: the sad events that led to her being turned mixed with her finally getting her real freedom.["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>...more

Ok first of all, I'm kind of ticked off because I got this book at Borders as a 'Borders Exclusive', and now there's a regular edition out that's being sold at Barnes & Noble, and IT has an extra story in it.

There are 7 short stories in this book: Haunted Love by Cynthia Leitich Smith - She also wrote another of my favorite books, Tantalize, but I'm not so sure how I feel about this short story - I think it's a little too much for my imagination. It's about a vampire who loves a ghost - howOk first of all, I'm kind of ticked off because I got this book at Borders as a 'Borders Exclusive', and now there's a regular edition out that's being sold at Barnes & Noble, and IT has an extra story in it.

There are 7 short stories in this book: Haunted Love by Cynthia Leitich Smith - She also wrote another of my favorite books, Tantalize, but I'm not so sure how I feel about this short story - I think it's a little too much for my imagination. It's about a vampire who loves a ghost - how do they make out?Amber Smoke by Kristin Cast - One half of the stellar writing team who does the House of Night vampires series, this short story is about vampire beginnings, and it's great!Dead Man Walking by Rachel Caine - Once again, Rachel Caine delivers with another great story centered around her characters in Morganville.Table Manners by Tanith Lee - This is great new stuff - I've never read anything by Tanith Lee before, and this was a great way to start!Changed by Nancy Holder - This was good, but I didn't like the strange names that were difficult to pronounce, because they distracted from the rest of the story.Blue Moon by Richelle Mead - Something from the author of the Vampire Academy series that doesn't disappoint! I want to read the rest of this story!Free by Claudia Gray - This is a new twist on classic vampire legend. Read this one first!...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.Originally posted here. :)

Immortal was a book I picked up in the hopes of finding some inspirational material for my Nanowrimo novel. I was looking for a variety of vampire love stories which could perhaps expose some of the reasons why teenagers love reading vampire fiction so much. What I didn't expect to find, upon opening the book, was an introduction by the editor P.C. Cast, which actually answered so many of my own questions. Aside from the perhaps forgivable plug for her own series of vamOriginally posted here. :)

Immortal was a book I picked up in the hopes of finding some inspirational material for my Nanowrimo novel. I was looking for a variety of vampire love stories which could perhaps expose some of the reasons why teenagers love reading vampire fiction so much. What I didn't expect to find, upon opening the book, was an introduction by the editor P.C. Cast, which actually answered so many of my own questions. Aside from the perhaps forgivable plug for her own series of vampire stories, Cast suggested the reason so many teenagers identify with vampire stories is the seductive idea of immortality. I must admit this hadn't really crossed my mind, so I was pleasantly surprised.

But the book itself; it's an anthology of vampire stories by contemporary writers. To sum it up is difficult considering there were stories I liked much better than others. So I'll just look at each of them in turn.

Haunted Love by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Smith is the author of Tantalize, and in this short story, set in Texas (where a remarkable number of vampire stories, and a fair proportion of the ones in this book, seem to be set) in an abandoned movie theatre which is re-opened by a recently turned vampire. The ghost of a long-dead girl and a new human arrival in town compete for his attention in this cinema, and I must admit this first story didn't give me too much hope for the rest of the anthology. It was a little patchy - towards the end of the story dismembered heads randomly make an appearance, which was a bit of a shock for me at 11 pm at night. XD

Amber Smoke by Kristin Cast

Cast, who is co-author with her mother on the House of Night series, contributed a story in which the ancient Greek Fates send up a vampire to save a human girl from a death, to fulfil an unnamed Revenge. It was an interesting idea, I have to admit, but the writing was a little choppy in places and the bloody scenes were a little disturbing right before I went to bed. :D

Dead Man Stalking by Rachel Caine

Set in the same place as her Morganville Vampires series, this story recounts the encounter of a young man with a zombie of his former schoolmate. The main character's father returns to town as a vampire-slaying bikie. I liked the idea of a town run by vampires. The writing was much more suspenseful in this story, but I didn't actually figure out the main character was a guy until the story was more than half-over, which I think was a major oversight on Caine's part, especially as I'm unfamiliar with her other work.

Table Manners by Tannith Lee

This story, in which vampirism is more a state of the mind to be treated through psychotherapy, intrigued me. I enjoyed it a lot, as the main character, who is herself a sort of vampire, encountered a new vampire and tried to convince him to visit her father, the therapist.

Blue Moon by Richelle Mead

I was looking forward to this piece greatly, as I love the Vampire Academy books, and I wasn't disappointed. Mead handled the short story format very well and I found myself more drawn to her characters than most of the others in this book. The main character is a vampire on the run in a city where vampires are boss. Her unsuspecting partner is a human who hates vampires for what they did to his family. It's fast paced but we still get a sense of the characters and come to like them very quickly.

Changed by Nancy Holder

Vampires invade New York and turn it into an apocalyptic nightmare. One girl struggles to survive and reach her best friend and 'love of her life' on the other side of the city. This story was certainly interesting and different, but I found myself confused by the main character. Apparently only sixteen she has already gone through drug abuse and rehab and a two-year relationship with her (now gay) best friend. For a sixteen-year-old in New York City, I think, she's certainly had a busy life. On the whole this story kept my interest but I found I couldn't like the main character or her love interest, though I could at times feel sympathy for them.

Binge by Rachel Vincent

'Binge' has a very interesting premise, dealing with sirens who drink human energy as they sing. I found this fascinating. At a party the main character and her siren friend meet a young musician who the main character quickly realises is a 'genius' that she can act as a sort of deadly muse to. It's a fascinating idea and I enjoyed reading this.

Free by Claudia Gray

I had already formed a less than favourable impression of the author of Evernight's writing; I think judged solely on what I had heard about the books from others. But 'Free' surprised me. Set in the 1800s in New Orleans it is the tale of a young woman destined to become a concubine for a rich white man. But the likeable heroine has other ideas. I loved this short story, which is the background of one of Gray's characters in her Evernight series and found myself drawn to the characters and deeply sympathising for them. Perhaps this has a lot to do with the tragic death of the heroine's chosen lover, Amos. Either way, this was a good read.

All in all, Immortal depicted the wide world of vampire fiction and shows just how dynamic and varying it can be. At times it's a nice deviation from the perhaps all too kid-friendly Twilight and I think that was part of the reason I found it unexpected when I began reading. The stories improve markedly towards the end of the anthology, but in retrospect, that might have less to do with the authors and more to do with my own reading preferences when it comes to the genre. For lovers of the vampire genre there's quite possibly something for everyone....more

In IMMORTAL: LOVE STORIES WITH BITE, editor P. C. Cast brings together eight short stories about the everlasting kiss, the bite of a vampire, from some of the most popular young adult paranormal authors today, including Kristin Cast, Richelle Mead, and Rachel Vincent, among others.

Similar to other anthologies, IMMORTAL was a great way to experience the style and writing of multiple different authors in only one book, and it was easy to pick up and readBitten by some stories, untouched by others

In IMMORTAL: LOVE STORIES WITH BITE, editor P. C. Cast brings together eight short stories about the everlasting kiss, the bite of a vampire, from some of the most popular young adult paranormal authors today, including Kristin Cast, Richelle Mead, and Rachel Vincent, among others.

Similar to other anthologies, IMMORTAL was a great way to experience the style and writing of multiple different authors in only one book, and it was easy to pick up and read a single story at a time. With each story running only 30 - 35 pages, it was perfect for lunch breaks or right before bed. Among the stories, there was some strong contributions, most notably Rachel Vincent's "Binge" about a siren and leenan sidhe fairy and Claudia Gray's "Free" about vampires and race in pre-Civil War New Orleans. Both stories were linked to the authors' existing series, SOUL SCREAMERS and EVERNIGHT respectively, and I liked both enough to want to seek out the authors' other books. Other well-done stories included Richelle Mead's "Blue Moon" about a vampire on the run, which had a tone and style similar to her VAMPIRE ACADEMY series, and Rachel Caine's "Dead Man Stalking" that provided a glimpse into the dysfunctional families of Morganville from her ongoing series.

Unfortunately, I found only half of the stories in this collection to be enjoyable or memorable. The stories by Kristin Cast ("Amber Smoke") and Tanith Lee ("Table Manners") were particularly weak, and those by Cynthia Leitich Smith ("Haunted Love") and Nancy Holder ("Changed") were just unmemorable. Many of the stories concluded with unhappy or unfinished endings, and very few of the entries were love stories in the traditional sense, which may be misleading to some readers based on the subtitle of the book. The lengthy introduction by P. C. Cast was also rambling and patronizing.

Even with this lack of balance in story quality, IMMORTAL proved to be a quick and inexpensive way to sample the work of multiple authors, and it provided me with some new authors to check out. I'm looking forward to the sequel, ETERNAL: MORE LOVE STORIES WITH BITE, which comes out later this year. If you're looking for something similar in the meantime, consider THE ETERNAL KISS: 13 VAMPIRE TALES OF BLOOD AND DESIRE.

(NOTE: Be sure to buy this edition of the book. An earlier, limited edition of the novel was available exclusively from BORDERS, but it did not include the story by Vincent and it cost six dollars more.)...more

I started this book yesterday because this book is due this Thursday and I found out someone put a hold on it. I wouldn't want someone to wait for a book longer than they already have to!

"Haunted Love" by Cynthia Leitich Smith -- I've never heard of her before, but I liked this story. The narrator tries to open the old movie cinema in his town, but it is haunted. Some chaos ensues but nothing bad. I thought it a good way to start the anthology.

"Amber Smoke" by Kristin Cast - I've heard of KrisI started this book yesterday because this book is due this Thursday and I found out someone put a hold on it. I wouldn't want someone to wait for a book longer than they already have to!

"Haunted Love" by Cynthia Leitich Smith -- I've never heard of her before, but I liked this story. The narrator tries to open the old movie cinema in his town, but it is haunted. Some chaos ensues but nothing bad. I thought it a good way to start the anthology.

"Amber Smoke" by Kristin Cast - I've heard of Kristin Cast though I've never read the books she and her mother write. It's interesting the Furies's son is a big part of this story. Alekos, who was "birthed eons ago from the womb of vengeance, conceived by jealousy, and grown in constant anger." Poetic. Though chronologically I think it'd make more sense for him to conceived, then birthed, then grown. Anyway, this wasn't one of my favorite stories in the pack. It was okay, but after a while I just skimmed to the end.

"Dead man Stalking (A Morganville Vampires Story)" by Rachel Caine -- This is an unknown author to me. Since I'm not familiar with her setting of Morganville, this story didn't initialy draw me. As I read more into the story, I felt disinterested. Vampires + zombies-ish creatures? Heh, not my preference.

"Table Manners" by Tanith Lee -- I really like Tanith Lee. :) So I'm biased going into this anthology. :P This story's perspective on the vampiric...physiology and psychology is a great premise. :D While Lelystra Draculian's romance with Anghel seems a little quick, it doesn't detract from the story.

"Blue Moon" by Richelle Mead -- I've read some of her books before. This story isn't set in the universe of her "Vampire Academy" world. Near the end I got a tinge of Blade (the movie with Wesley Snipes) but it was an intriguing story. The "bound" part kind of bothered me, but just momentarily.

"Changed" by Nancy Holder -- I'm not much impressed by previous works I've read by Holder. This story, while a bit confusing, impressed me with the different personalities. While deplorable, it is entirely possible that being overrun with vampires doesn't process on Eli's parents as something to worry about so much as his homosexuality and how he'll never get to Heaven, and he's a sinner. (His parents are Judaism.) Of course, their reaction could be because the situation with vampires overrunning the city is too big for them to handle or process so they focus on smaller, more concrete and familiar things. *shrug* I doubt the Torah says how to deal with vampires while it may be explicit on the topic of homosexuality. Jilly's reaction to Eli is pretty wow - that's deep love. Eli's reaction at the end, too, when they find Sean is pretty realistic. Yay, coping mechanism!

"Binge" by Rachel Vincent -- This is another unknown author to me, though I was quite taken by her story. Andi is a siren who needs to sing and take in someone's human spirit in order to survive. Her best friend Mallory, who isn't affected by her singing goes with her whenever she does this, so she can stop Andi before she ends up killing people. This story is one of Mallory noticing someone different who calls to her; they're pulled to each other. If you know mythology, it's not hard to figure out who Mallory is.

"Free" by Claudia Grey -- This is a story set in Grey's Evernight but centuries before. The main character is Patrice, who I don't remember from the first (and only, so far) Evernight book I read a few months ago... Anyway, she's not a slave, but she's not exactly free. She's awaiting to have "suitors" she will keep company until they find a white wife. :-S Interesting storyline how she becomes a vampire. I like it, though not a favorite in this bunch. ...more

An earlier version of this book was published by Borders (or at least for Borders) exclusively sold within their stores. However for this new edition a new story was added by Rachel Vincent.

"Haunted Love" Cynthia Leitch SmithThere's more at stake (get it? at stake? vampires? work with me people) in this story then a love triangle. There's a decades old murder and hiding your true self and learning to move on from bad experiences. I admit I did not see the twist coming at all and I enjoyed the 'rAn earlier version of this book was published by Borders (or at least for Borders) exclusively sold within their stores. However for this new edition a new story was added by Rachel Vincent.

"Haunted Love" Cynthia Leitch SmithThere's more at stake (get it? at stake? vampires? work with me people) in this story then a love triangle. There's a decades old murder and hiding your true self and learning to move on from bad experiences. I admit I did not see the twist coming at all and I enjoyed the 'romance' of this story. Just gotta believe right?

"Amber Smoke" Kristin CastI enjoyed this story, and the premise behind it (let's go Furies!), but it felt rushed and as if it didn't have enough space to really explore everything. Alek's motivations were vague and defined only in that he wanted to protect Jenna. Jenna accepted her role fairly quickly. The pacing was off and I think if this was made into a full length novel it would smooth out the pacing faults easily.

"Dead Man Stalking" Rachel CaineThis ties in with her Morganville Vampires series. In The Eternal Kiss we saw the Morganville Universe through Eve's eyes and this time we see it through Shane's eyes. This isn't a story of romantic-love, but of family-love. Or whatever passes for family-love in Frank Collins' (Shane's father) eyes. This wasn't a story you could really read independent of the series either, as it relied upon knowing about Frank's last visit to Morganville and the fall out from that for development purposes. I enjoyed this look through Shane's eyes, saw a side of him we don't normally see. As with Eve's story, this could certainly be a set up for another arc in the series proper, but it makes you wonder--how many chances is this man going to get to burn the town?

"Table Manners" Tanith LeeI wanted to like this story, because it looks at vampirism so differently, but the writing style was rather odd. It was almost like a gothic novel, with some of the sentences awkwardly phrased and elaborate descriptions of scene and mood. I liked that Lee looked at vampirism as an evolution of humankind, not a disease or curse and made it clear that really vampires didn't need blood or to avoid the sun or any of that, the media had just convinced them that's how things should be. Popular Culture--it will be the death of free thought and rational thinking.

"Blue Moon" Richelle MeadI've not yet read the Vampire Academy series (it sits so forlornly on my shelves...beckoning I swear), but after reading this I have a new sort of impetus to. Blue Moon has nothing to do with the VA series (that I know of), but Mead's writing has a sort of urgency to it that I responded well to. I liked that her two characters, Lucy and Nathan, were both not quite sure what to do. Vampire-Human relations are, at best, categorized as Master-Servant class. It was enthralling simply put.

"Changed" Nancy HolderHolder's story was brutal, emotionally and in how it depicted vampires. These aren't your brooding romantic vampires--these are amoral, cruel and inhuman creatures parading around in human guise. I felt so bad for Jilly, for everything she went through all because of a doomed (romantic) love. Her development throughout the story was fairly astounding, given the short nature of the story, but it flowed so easily. So logically as Jilly went from being desperate to find her friend Eli because she loved him so much, to finding him and understand that he loved her but not enough and ultimately to her realization that it didn't matter what form of love they shared, it was love and that's what mattered.

"Binge" Rachel VincentThis is set in her Soul Screamers universe. A story about a siren and a leanan sidhe, of what power they have and what destruction they can cause. This was a painful story as Mallory, who always made sure Andi didn't go too far with her siren songs, learned that sometimes its hard to know when to stop even when you know better. You could feel how painful it all was for Mallory and how badly Andi wanted to save her from herself. In the end they both learn a powerful lesson, but at what cost.

"Free" Claudia GrayThis is set in her Evernight universe (featuring Patrice, Bianca's roommate from the novels). We learned the bare facts of how Patrice became a vampire in Evernight, and here we learn the whole truth. Over a century later we see what this one choice, how powerfully Patrice wanted to be truly free, becomes. Beauty is her weapon, her way to survive and charm. I enjoyed learning this little about her and what makes her tick.

These stories were at times surprising and at others times heart-breaking. I enjoyed this anthology a lot, and can only hope for more such anthologies in the future....more

I am not a big fan of short stories, but from time to time I give them a try, plus they are convenient to read as a stopgap (is that the right english word? My dictionary said so...).

As with all anthologies, some stories are outstanding, others are extremely bad and the rest is somewhere in between. These three stories I enjoyed most:

"Blue Moon" by Richelle Mead: never read this author before, but the story was quite impressing, it was thrilling and original and the writing was very good. A trueI am not a big fan of short stories, but from time to time I give them a try, plus they are convenient to read as a stopgap (is that the right english word? My dictionary said so...).

As with all anthologies, some stories are outstanding, others are extremely bad and the rest is somewhere in between. These three stories I enjoyed most:

"Blue Moon" by Richelle Mead: never read this author before, but the story was quite impressing, it was thrilling and original and the writing was very good. A true surprise to me, and I will definitely check out the author's other books.

"Free" by Claudia Gray: I enjoyed reading this story, which tells how Patrice, one of the characters from the author's novel 'Evernight', became vampire. In Evernight, Patrice is not the most likeable person, but now I can understand her much better and start to sympathize with her.

"Dead Man Stalking" by Rachel Caine: this is also a story which is connected to other novels of the author, here the Morganville vampire series. I liked the story very much, as it had more action and less romance, which I appreciate. I guess I will five the Morganville series a try soon....more

1. Haunted Love - Cynthia Leitich Smith. Interesting premise, had some good twists to it. Good story though it didn't quite keep me 100% captivated. 3/5

2. Amber Smoke - Kristin Cast. I like this author. I thought this story was poorly executed. It had great potential, but I disliked the main character, and thought everything was poorly explained (MC's reactions to her situation). 2/5

3. Dead Man Stalking - Rachel Caine. A good background story for Shane. Loved this one, and was happy to see Shane1. Haunted Love - Cynthia Leitich Smith. Interesting premise, had some good twists to it. Good story though it didn't quite keep me 100% captivated. 3/5

2. Amber Smoke - Kristin Cast. I like this author. I thought this story was poorly executed. It had great potential, but I disliked the main character, and thought everything was poorly explained (MC's reactions to her situation). 2/5

3. Dead Man Stalking - Rachel Caine. A good background story for Shane. Loved this one, and was happy to see Shane get his own story. 5/5

4. Table Manners - Tanith Lee. Felt like I needed to read this with a British accent, not entirely sure why, but that seemed to work for me. Otherwise, interesting. 3.5/5

5. Blue Moon - Richelle Mead. Loved this one. I think it could be the start of a new series for Richelle. Set-up and execution leaves you wanting more. 5/5

6. Changed - Nancy Holder. Very dark, and visceral story. Not one of my favourites, but still was good. 4/5

7. Binge - Rachel Vincent. Enjoyable storyline. Will definitely be reading more from this author. 4/5

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.Immortal: Love Stories with Bite is a YA Paranormal Anthology.

Dead Man Stalking is book #4.5 in the Morganville Series by Rachel Caine. This short story is from Shane's point of view. Shane is abducted by Jerome, a local dead guy. He's not entirely shocked by this development because, well, this is Morganville. He is shocked to find that his dad is behind the abduction and raising the dead. Frank tries to get Shane to join him in the human and now zombie war against the zombies. Shane pretends tImmortal: Love Stories with Bite is a YA Paranormal Anthology.

Dead Man Stalking is book #4.5 in the Morganville Series by Rachel Caine. This short story is from Shane's point of view. Shane is abducted by Jerome, a local dead guy. He's not entirely shocked by this development because, well, this is Morganville. He is shocked to find that his dad is behind the abduction and raising the dead. Frank tries to get Shane to join him in the human and now zombie war against the zombies. Shane pretends to contemplate joining to get more details on the zombie raising. When he discovers that Frank has Michael chained up for his blood, he's filled with fury. He fights his father, saves Michael, beats Jerome, and destroys the accrued blood. Jerome is no longer useful to Frank and he puts him down. I really enjoyed this slice of Shane and it's a must read for Morganville fans....more

The StoriesCynthia Leitich Smith's "Haunted Love" starts vague and slowly lets drop tidbits of truth. It's very well done as we slowly discover the truth about Cody Stryker and then Ginny Augustine, and finally,

Kristin Cast's "Amber Smoke" is imaginative and dorky. I felt like I was being jerked back and forth between possiAn anthology of eight stories for Young Adults revolving around the theme of immortality and love.

The StoriesCynthia Leitich Smith's "Haunted Love" starts vague and slowly lets drop tidbits of truth. It's very well done as we slowly discover the truth about Cody Stryker and then Ginny Augustine, and finally,

Kristin Cast's "Amber Smoke" is imaginative and dorky. I felt like I was being jerked back and forth between possibilities, and I wasn't sure what was happening. I didn't particularly like how "teen-sounding" Jenna was, either. *shrugs, does an eye roll* Sounds like it's a prequel for something.

Rachel Caine's "Dead Man Stalking" is a very short blip as we witness an encounter between Shane and his crazy dad, Frank, over Michael's shackled person. Frank's got a new idea for taking down the Morganville vampires. Everything you'd expect in a Caine story about Morganville!

Tanith Lee's "Table Manners" was different. Lee led by making me believe that Lel was a vampire hunter, then a deprogrammer, before I finally learned what she really was. Interesting take on why a vampire fears certain elements and requires a blood diet. If it's a series, I'd like to read more.

Richelle Mead's "Blue Moon" sounds like it could be a new series uniting human and vampire to ensure equality between the two. If only this young vampire can survive her family. It's a good one with a completely different premise on how humans and vampires get along. Cute, using Lucy as the protagonist's name.

Nancy Holder's "Changed" is more of a horror story as, overnight, New York City is practically destroyed and Jilly is desperate to find the love of her life. The fact that the love of her life loves someone else doesn't matter. Until that love turns viciously on her. It's a good story, but leaves one HUGE unanswered question for me. Was he turned during the invasion or was he part of the invasion?

Rachel Vincent's "Binge" demonstrates youthful optimism, as well as its stupidity and the damage that can result from the loss of control. It certainly gives us a sense of how Andi must feel when she's caught up in her "binging". Great story, and it made me cry.

Claudia Gray's "Free" is a prequel to her Evernight series, and we learn how Patrice Deveraux was turned in New Orleans in 1841. Gotta look up that first story in the series, Evernight.

The CoverThe cover is a gradated gray to black with just a hint of a blow behind her shoulder, just enough to silhouette the wavy strands of hair flowing around her head. She's a beautiful woman on the cover in this partial profile, reminds me of Penelope Cruz. The title is in a degraded Gothic script, in red with swirls and twirls connecting the woman, the title, its subtitle and the editor's name.

The title is the theme and its subset, Immortals: Love Stories With Bite....more

Let me start off by saying that yes, I'm that guy that read this book and kind of regrets it and kind of doesn't want to admit it; but I also revel in doing things that people think are beneath me, and I'm a firm believer in finding jewels sprinkled in the heaping piles of horseshit that the modern culture industry drowns us in, so yes, I'll admit publicly that I read this book. Fuck you.

Now that that's out the way, as per my usual preference, I'm going to take the review story-by-story.

"HauntedLet me start off by saying that yes, I'm that guy that read this book and kind of regrets it and kind of doesn't want to admit it; but I also revel in doing things that people think are beneath me, and I'm a firm believer in finding jewels sprinkled in the heaping piles of horseshit that the modern culture industry drowns us in, so yes, I'll admit publicly that I read this book. Fuck you.

Now that that's out the way, as per my usual preference, I'm going to take the review story-by-story.

"Haunted Love" by Cynthia Leitich Smith - This one started out relatively strong, if a little immaturely YA. The ending upped the WTF factor considerably in the course of only a couple of pages, giving the story a very pronounced pacing issue. Otherwise it was pretty good; it managed to be upfront in its depiction of the supernatural (I hate stories that play coy with things that are obvious to the audience) without being too earnest (again, until the end), and it managed to create tension from the idea of a haunting in a relatively original way. Decent story with a lousy final act.

"Amber Smoke" by Kristin Cast - Another one with a very immature vibe; follows the "teenagers fighting evil" model that Power Rangers started 20 years ago, only with watered down teen-girl physical crushes and a poorly executed and ill-defined time travel mechanic. Ultimately, for a story that actually repeats some of its own time, it manages to travel too fast once the supernatural stuff comes into clearer focus; and the beginning is melodramatic past the point where it could be considered intentionally ironic.

"Dead Man Stalking" by Rachel Caine - Another admission, I'm a fan of Rachel Caine's "Morganville Vampires" series - one of those jewels I mentioned earlier, even if it is at times a bit formulaic. I'm not sure how much sense this story would make without knowing the characters and the setting from reading the novels, but within the overall context of the series it's pretty good, and absent any confusion regarding who is who and why these people are acting this way, it's a pretty decent tale.

"Table Manners" by Tanith Lee - Wouldn't you know, the first story I really like and think stands on its own, and it plays coy with the supernatural as a main theme. Lee's story about allowing preconceived notions of "necessity" guide one's life actually manages to use the supernatural as a metaphor, which is the best thing genre fiction can do. The story is a little abrupt near the end and feels a bit unfinished, but for its central theme it's pretty decent.

"Blue Moon" by Richelle Mead - Near the beginning of this story, I really wanted to like it. If it'd stuck to its relatively simple, kind of noirish premise - a vampire girl in a world run by vampires needs to escape her own kind and enlists the aid of a male human stranger familiar with the seedier side of life to help her - it would have done just fine. Instead, it tries to escalate - by introducing a relatively ridiculous prophecy (the girl in the story is a vampire who can make humans as strong as vampires without turning them into vampires, which is why she's being hunted). Throughout the story we watch as she discovers why vampires kind of suck, lording it over the humans; ie we see why she'd become willing to give humans the power to kill her kind. And best of all, the prophecy states that once she's bestowed this gift on enough humans, she gets to be free of all the pesky shortcomings of being a vampire - ie, drinking blood and not being able to go out in the sun. As a result the climax of the story has no tension whatsoever - a "will she or won't she" moment when she has to decide whether to give the boy who's been helping her and who clearly has a crush on her despite all the reasons he shouldn't (vampires have seriously fucked with his family) the power to kill vampires. Ugh. Starts out promising, and doesn't "start going downhill" so much as "enters complete freefall."

"Changed" by Nancy Holder - One of the highlights of the collection. "Changed" has a very different tone from all the rest; while the rest revel in a very Judy Bloom version of vampirism (everyone's clean-cut and pretty while also being undead), Nancy Holder's story revels in the exact opposite - a protagonist with an edgy look and sexually adventurous and harmful past who's pining after her gay best friend. This is also one of the very rare instances where the implication that the supernatural elements might just be in the main characters' head is not something I resent; because it's done very subtly. Unfortunately it loses points for the main character's "epiphany" at the end.

"Binge" by Rachel Vincent - Competing with "Table Manners" as my favorite story in the collection. "Binge" is what many of the other authors in this collection were going for but missed, either because of a lack of skill or a lack of gall. It's a cautionary tale that's deeply rooted in its own mythology, but also in a relatively straightforward moral for young teen readers. It's not afraid of consequences and the sense of escalating, stomach-clenching peril as the reader nears the end is excellent.

"Free" by Claudia Gray - "Free" is not the only story in this collection that's part of a series of stories, and unlike "Dead Man Stalking" I haven't read Claudia Gray's other work. Maybe that's what made this story feel so flat. It had a decent setup, a believable plotline, and believable characters - but it all somehow felt flat. It might have to do with the pacing near the end - there's very little emotional consequence for Patrice, the main character, despite the fact that the love of her life was murdered a few days ago and she herself is transformed into a vampire. I'd have liked to see a little more of her experimenting with the freedom she'd wanted and gained by the end of the story. Not a bad story, but not really a good one, either.

Overall, I wouldn't call "Immortal" a waste of time; there were a few pretty good stories within, but unfortunately there were just as many pieces of schlock.

Once upon a time I'd have said that that schlock was still worth reading as indicators of current cultural trends; but while "teen paranormal romance" marches on as juggernaut genre, vampires themselves are starting to be left behind as yesterday's news. Twilight itself is over; the True Blood television show is coming to a close; and the end is in sight for many of the book series that piggy-backed on Twilight's success (the aforementioned Morganville Vampires series, the House of Night series, even the "Southern Vampire Mysteries" series that began before Twilight became a cultural phenomenon and which spawned True Blood). So those of you who've been moaning about the presence of vampires in sappy teenage love stories can rest easy that it's coming to a close, and can continue to disregard collections like "Immortal."

For recommendations - obviously, anyone who can claim to be a fan of any two of the book series mentioned above would probably love "Immortal." For the serious vampire literature fan, it's still worth a look, for "Table Manners" and "Change;" while "Binge" was possibly my favorite story in the collection, calling it a vampire story is, I feel, too much of a stretch. Still, serious YA fans should check out the collection primarily for "Binge;" they'd also probably like "Table Manners" and "Change," and "Dead Man Stalking" and "Free" both make relatively enjoyable, if empty and unenlightened, reads. ...more

The story of Patrice which will become the nemesis in Evernight. The thing in this series is the heroine ALWAYS assume that their 'boyfriend' would love to be a vampire so that they will be together forever. It is clearly stupid and delusional. Anyways, after she failed to persuade her 'beloved' to be married (the reason is foolish) she moved on to her next prospect for about 5 minutes lapse. Good for her.

Nice twist of making a team (view spoiler)[of 13 humans who can kill vampires. Lucy Wade is the chosen one, born during a blue moon and she'll turn 18 in a blue moon. She can read the magic medal disc that has the words to make vampire hunters. Now, her rich and powerful father is hunting her.

Lucy hasn't had her first kill yet. She's waiting until she's 18. Lucy bite/kisses Nathan to bind him to her. (hide spoiler)]

Sounds like it is a different world than the Vampire Academy world of dhampirs aNice twist of making a team (view spoiler)[of 13 humans who can kill vampires. Lucy Wade is the chosen one, born during a blue moon and she'll turn 18 in a blue moon. She can read the magic medal disc that has the words to make vampire hunters. Now, her rich and powerful father is hunting her.

Lucy hasn't had her first kill yet. She's waiting until she's 18. Lucy bite/kisses Nathan to bind him to her. (hide spoiler)]

Sounds like it is a different world than the Vampire Academy world of dhampirs and guardians. But I think it has potential. I look forward to reading more about Lucy and Nathan.

Table Manners by Tanith Lee♥ ♥ ♥ Slightly different type of vampires where much of legend is actually psychosomatic. Anghel sounds like the typical handsome vampire male looking for a young accessible female, but I wasn't sure what Lelystra, Lel's role was. Sounds like makings of an interesting series. I hope it continues on. (vampires, mystery, shapeshifters)

Blue Moon by Richelle Mead♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Nice twist of making a team (view spoiler)[of 13 humans who can kill vampires. Sounds like it is a different world than the Vampire Academy world of dhampirs and guardians. (vampires, vampire hunters, mystery) (hide spoiler)]

Changed by Nancy Holder♥ ♥ ♥ Jilly was too desperate for my taste and the love triangle (view spoiler)[ between Jilly, Eli and Sean was not typical, but still not interesting. Sean was such a jerk and Eli was oblivious or Jilly was just jealous and delusional. (hide spoiler)] (vampires, glbt)

Binge by Rachel Vincent (Soul Screamers #1.5)♥ ♥ ♥ Andi is a siren and Mallory is her non-human sidekick. Their relationship seems more like a business arrangement than a friendship. (view spoiler)[Mallory meets a talented musician at a party and it's her worst nightmare. (hide spoiler)] (energy drainers/vampires?)

Free by Claudia Gray (Evernight #0.5)♥ ♥ ♥ A beautiful girl is a slave to her skin and the charity of men. Patrice Deveraux longs for love and freedom, and she rejects the life of favors that her mother Althea sees for her. A man does change Patrice's life, but not the man she envisioned. (slavery, vampires)["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>...more

The reason for giving this book 5 stars is actually very simple: A-M-A-Z-I-N-GYes, this book of short stories is one of the best book ever. It is filled with characters that will have you swooning and cheering for them!

I actually bought this book on impulse, basically because I was attracted to the cover. So yes, it has been quite some time, at least a good 4-5 years since I bought and read this book. Know this: I didn't know any of the authors when I staOriginally posted at Revenge of the Feels

The reason for giving this book 5 stars is actually very simple: A-M-A-Z-I-N-GYes, this book of short stories is one of the best book ever. It is filled with characters that will have you swooning and cheering for them!

I actually bought this book on impulse, basically because I was attracted to the cover. So yes, it has been quite some time, at least a good 4-5 years since I bought and read this book. Know this: I didn't know any of the authors when I started reading this book.

Okay, so out of the seven stories, my favourite story would BLUE MOON by Richelle Mead. I have read her Vampire Academy series after this book and it is quite different from her world of the Moroi and Dhampir. It was quite a fresh read, having a female vampire as the protagonist. The story between the female vampire and a male human was so intriguing and mesmerising, that I do wish she would have written more short stories or possibly continuing this story, especially since I find this story of hers very interesting!

This book also introduces me to the Morganville vampires by Rachel Caine. A short story, DEAD MAN STALKING, written by Caine and I got to know possibly one of the cutest couple ever, Michael and Eve! I must admit, from what Caine wrote in this short story, I am tempted to read the Morganville vampires series!

Claudia Gray's FREE was something rather different than most vampire series, rather, most YA books. The story does not focus too much on love but on a woman who craves freedom and being brave enough to take on the challenges thrown to her. It is worth the time to read!

Rachel Vincent's BINGE shows just how dangerous a muse can be to a musician. Literally. This brings out a question that got me thinking, can a musician love his muse without mistaking “love” as how inspired he can be from his muse? It’s just a question that popped into my head when I was reading this story.

Nancy Holder's CHANGED got me excited and a little confused. This story was set in the world where humans would betrayed each other for their own safety. Even if that seems like the most inhumane thing to do. Though I have a few questions. Does Sean really hate the gut out of Jilly? Or like Eli said, he actually harbours some other feelings? Eli and Sean are in a relationship so well, my brain is confused. Despite the confusion, it is still amazing!

Tanith Lee's TABLE MANNERS was quite a joy to read! It is quite entertaining to see a bright young woman with a confused vampire. Vampires are always portrayed to be cool and composed. So, imagine my surprise at this book! Quite a refreshing read!

Cynthia Leitich Smith's HAUNTED LOVE was quite the plot twist! Quite different from most books I have ever read. A vampire, a ghost, a human and NONE of them are what they appeared to be. I must say, I got quite a shock, a wonderful shock!

Kristin Cast's AMBER SMOKE was quite amazing, I must say! It's also my favourite story! I have been a fan of her House of Night series and this short story introduces us to a new kind of vampire, who have the power to alter space and times to save the girl he's meant to love. This story is one of my favourite!

Well, it's not that I am singing praises to this particular book of short stories, but it is truly and indeed AMAZING!

Trust me, I have read other books containing short stories and it was so, well, uninteresting and boring. However for IMMORTALS, once you read it, you will be HOOKED onto the book!

Highly recommended for fans of the featured authors and anyone who wants to have a great and light read!...more

This overall was a fantastic collection of vampire stories! I loved each story for it's individuality and the creativity of the settings and characters!

I loved P.C Cast's introduction, it was quite enlightening and made so many fantastic points!

I had never actually read any of Cynthia Leitich Smith's until I read "Haunted Love", and I have to say that I loved her writing. The story was interesting and was a perfect opening to the book!

Kristen Cast's "Amber Smoke" was amazing! I love her work andThis overall was a fantastic collection of vampire stories! I loved each story for it's individuality and the creativity of the settings and characters!

I loved P.C Cast's introduction, it was quite enlightening and made so many fantastic points!

I had never actually read any of Cynthia Leitich Smith's until I read "Haunted Love", and I have to say that I loved her writing. The story was interesting and was a perfect opening to the book!

Kristen Cast's "Amber Smoke" was amazing! I love her work and am now hoping that "Amber Smoke" becomes it's own series of novels, because I want more!

"Dead Man Stalking" by Rachel Caine was fantastic! I was never sure whether I should buy the Morganville Vampires series, but now I think I will!

Tanith Lee's "Table Manners". Magnificent! It was so original and wonderful, and her amazingly creative new take on vampires was just... wow!

I loved Richelle Mead's "Blue Moon"! It was great to read something in the same genre as Vampire Academy but so, so different! The characters were amazing, and now I'm waiting for a full novel!

Nancy Holder's writing and settings were so interesting in "Changed" that I just didn't know what to think! The characters were amazing and the story was so... Intriguing! I've never read anything like it!

I've never read anything of Rachel Vincent's, but now I want to! "Binge" was amazing! I was slightly freaked out by the extent of the girls "abilities", but it was such a different take on your average vampire novel and it really hit the mark.

"Free" by Claudia Gray. By far my favorite short story in the book! I never dared to pick up Evernight because I thought it would be a major disappointment, but now I know I was wrong! I loved this story, and the leading character, Patrice was amazing! ...more

P.C. Cast was born in the Midwestern United States, and grew up being shuttled back-and-forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell in love with Quarter Horses and mythology (at about the same time). After high school she joined the United States Air Force and began public speaking and writing. With her tour in the USAF completed, she taught high school for 15 years before retirinP.C. Cast was born in the Midwestern United States, and grew up being shuttled back-and-forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell in love with Quarter Horses and mythology (at about the same time). After high school she joined the United States Air Force and began public speaking and writing. With her tour in the USAF completed, she taught high school for 15 years before retiring to write full time. Ms. Cast is a #1 New York Times and USA Today Best-Selling author and a proud member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious: Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Prism, Holt Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, Booksellers’ Best, and the Laurel Wreath. Her mega-hit young adult series, The House of Night, co-authored with her daughter, Kristin, has transcended the genre and, with over 20 million copies in print, appeals to readers of all ages. Ms. Cast's young adult, paranormal romance, and fantasy series can currently be found in forty-two countries. Ms. Cast lives in Oklahoma with an assortment of dogs, cats, horses, and one precocious burro....more